Baseball and softball organizations periodically publish and update equipment standards and/or requirements including performance limitations for ball bats. One recently issued standard is the Bat-Ball Coefficient of Restitution (“BBCOR”) Standard adopted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) on May 21, 2009. The BBCOR Standard, which became effective on Jan. 1, 2011 for NCAA baseball, is a principal part of the NCAA's effort, using available scientific data, to maintain as nearly as possible wood-like baseball bat performance in non-wood baseball bats. Although wood ball bats provide many beneficial features, they are prone to failure, and because wooden ball bats are typically solid (not hollow), wooden bats can be too heavy for younger players even at reduced bat lengths. Wood ball bats also provide little or no flexibility in the design of the hitting or barrel region of the bat. Non-wood bats, such as bats formed of aluminum, other alloys, composite fiber materials, thermoplastic materials and combinations thereof, allow for performance of the bat to be more readily tuned or adjusted throughout or along the hitting or barrel portion. Such characteristics enable non-wood bats to provide more consistent performance, increased reliability and increased durability than wood bats.
Other organizations have also adopted the BBCOR Standard. For example, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has set Jan. 1, 2012 as the effective date for implementation of the BBCOR Standard for high school play. The BBCOR Standard includes a 0.500 BBCOR bat performance limit, which specifies that no point on the barrel or hitting portion of a bat can exceed the 0.500 BBCOR bat performance limit.
Another recent example of new bat performance limitations is the new USA Baseball bat standard (USABat) which also includes accelerated break-in testing of composite ball bats to ensure that the bat's performance does not increase during or after undergoing a bat rolling procedure. Effective on Jan. 1, 2018, Little League Baseball® will adhere to the new USABat standard, and no bats previously approved for use in Little League play will be permitted to be used in any Little League game or practice, or other Little League event. Other organizations implementing the new USABat standard include PONY Baseball, Babe Ruth Baseball/Cal Ripken Baseball, Dixie Youth Baseball, American Amateur Baseball Congress and Amateur Athletic Union.
When fiber composite bat barrels are used in a bat design, many of the new equipment standards and/or requirements also require the bat to undergo an accelerated break-in test procedure wherein the bat is repeatedly rolled in a barrel rolling procedure and then performance tested until the bat fails or shows evidence of failing.
Accordingly, a need exists to develop a method and/or system for forming barrel portions of a ball bat or other cylindrical portions of a ball bat using fiber composite material that can satisfy ball bat equipment standards and/or requirements in a cost effective, reliable and high quality manner. What is needed is a system or process of developing a ball bat that provides a high quality cosmetic appearance, is highly durable, and provides the desired operational characteristics. It would be advantageous to provide a ball bat, and a system or method for producing a ball bat including a barrel portion formed of fiber composite material, that can satisfy performance requirements, such as BBCOR certification or the USABat standard, without adding too much weight or wall thickness to the barrel portion. It would be advantageous to provide a ball bat with a desirable level of barrel stiffness, and provides exceptional feel and performance.